Just a Taste (24 page)

They pulled up to Carmen's house. “Thanks for the ride. And for taking care of my sister.”

“No problem.”

“You still going to propose?”

“Why wouldn't I? I think now's as good a time as any. By Saturday, she'll be my fiancée.”

Liam ran to the front door and knocked. He needed to ask Carmen for a key. It was too freaking cold to stand on a porch unnecessarily.

She opened the door with a sleepy look on her face. All of the anger and frustration fled his system.

“Sorry if I woke you.”

“That's okay.” She welcomed him into her arms, and they went to bed.

After a fabulous night of sleep, Carmen woke early to get the truck ready. Rosa had called to chat last night and when Carmen had told her about Liam's mom, Rosa offered to work the truck with Carmen.

Carmen hesitated, but she really didn't want to take the truck off the street. They'd finally started building momentum again and taking days off would make them unreliable. People wanted to know when and where the truck would be. She knew that was how to build a solid customer base.

She loved her cousin, but Rosa was unpredictable. Could she be any worse than Pete had been? And really, it was only for a few days. She hoped. Liam needed time to handle things with his mom, but he wasn't going to walk away from his whole life.

Standing in her kitchen, she checked the weather. Another miserably cold day, but at least the sun was out. With any luck, that would be enough to draw out the last-minute shoppers. She sipped her coffee and posted their schedule for the day before heading to the restaurant.

Liam continued to sleep like he had no intention of waking. She grabbed a key from the drawer and left a note by the coffeemaker. His car was parked in her driveway since they'd been using her car to get to and from the restaurant. He could sleep in and then be with his family.

She checked the clock, poured a coffee to go, and hoped Rosa would be on time. No way did Carmen want to run the truck alone. When she arrived at the restaurant, Rosa's car was already parked.

As Carmen stepped from her car, Rosa met her.

“Damn, girl, I was hoping you'd be here before I actually had to leave. I didn't expect you to be early enough to help prep. I'm in shock.”

Rosa rolled her eyes. “You should have more faith in me. I said I'd be here.”

Inside the kitchen, Carmen began gathering supplies before she thought about the fact that Rosa had no idea what she was doing. Carmen stopped and thought about the process. She and Liam had formed such an easy relationship that their routine was seamless. After gathering her thoughts, Carmen made a list of what needed to happen.

Rosa nodded and then grabbed an order pad and wrote things down. Yet another surprise.

As they loaded the truck, her phone rang. “Hello?”

“Where the heck are you?” Liam asked.

“I'm at the restaurant getting the truck ready.”

“Why didn't you wake me? Give me ten minutes to get dressed.”

“No. It's okay. I have Rosa working with me. You were exhausted after yesterday and you need to be with your family. We have this handled.” She set the tomatoes and onions in the cooler.

“You sure?”

“Yeah.” At least she thought so.

“I miss you.”

Her heart fluttered, but she said, “I've been gone less than two hours and you were unconscious when I left.”

“But the bed is really cold now.”

“It must be time for you to go to the hospital to spend time with your mom then. Coffee's ready and I left you a key to lock up.”

“A key, huh?”

“Well, I don't want my house left unlocked.”

“I think you just want me to be able to come over whenever I want.”

She rolled her eyes like Rosa had. “You do that anyway.”

She'd been a little worried that he might think she was pressuring him into something by leaving him a key, but like with everything, Liam took it in stride.

“I like being able to surprise you.”

“Yeah, you're pretty good at that.”

“Hey, now,” Rosa called from behind her. “No sex talk on the job. We have work to do.”

Carmen laughed and so did Liam. “She's right. About the work, I mean. We have to get going.”

“See you for dinner?”

“You might be busy with your family. I'll call you.” She disconnected and avoided making eye contact with Rosa.

“Shit, you got it bad.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You are so hung up on him.”

“You sound like a teenager. We're adults in an adult relationship.”

“And you get all moony-eyed when he calls. Some adult.” Rosa slid the last of the food onto the truck and slammed the door.

Carmen couldn't respond intelligently. She wanted to stick her tongue out at Rosa, which wouldn't make her feel any more adult, so she did nothing.

It took longer than usual to leave the kitchen, but once they hit the road, Carmen felt better. Rosa didn't slack off during prep, and when they got to the site, she took directions and they were able to open on time.

Carmen stood over the grill and braced herself. Cooking with Liam had been easy and fun. She didn't have to take it seriously because he was serious enough for the both of them. But now it was all on her. She had to be
the
cook. This was what she'd wanted to avoid.

She glanced at Rosa and wondered if Rosa could handle the cooking. Then she shook her head. Avoiding difficult things was not the way to live her life.

Rosa leaned against the window and peered outside. “It's damn cold out there. Are you sure people are gonna show up to eat?”

“I hope so.”

For the rest of the day, at both their first stop and their second, Carmen and Rosa worked steadily. Carmen's hunch had paid off; many people were on the streets for Christmas shopping. Rosa worked the window professionally. She was friendly and a little flirty, but not obnoxiously so. She was just being Rosa.

Carmen found her cooking rhythm easily enough. She just thought about what it had been like cooking with Liam. She missed the teasing and joking she had with him, but Rosa was fun. By the time they rolled up after the second stop, Carmen was tired, but satisfied.

As she drove back toward the restaurant, she said, “You did a really good job today. Thanks.”

“Shhh . . . don't tell my dad. He might expect me to work at the restaurant.”

Carmen laughed. She remembered thinking the same thing as a teen. “You might miss having the chance to work with your dad. Why don't you like the restaurant?”

“Same reason you don't.”

Carmen knew that wasn't true. She hated being at the restaurant because it had been a constant reminder of her weight. She felt fat and then she was surrounded by food, so she ate, which made her feel fatter. It was a never-ending cycle. She'd convinced herself if she stayed away from the restaurant, she'd feel better.

It had taken years for her to realize that wasn't the case. And now it was too late.

“You're really good with customers, though. I'm sure your dad would love to have you on staff.”

“Uh-uh. I like your customers. They're around for five minutes, tops. In the restaurant, I have to hustle and be nice and
hope
to get a good tip. I can't stand it. Here, the pace is faster. All I have to do is chat for a few minutes, make them smile, and they're on their way.” She smiled. “And I don't have to stand over that hot ass grill.”

Carmen pulled into the lot. “Works for me.”

“So we're done.”

“Not quite. We have to empty and clean out the truck so it's ready for tomorrow.”

When she parked, Junior poked his head out the back door. “No way. I heard a rumor that my sister was actually working, but I had to see it to believe it.”

“Ha-ha,” Rosa said.

“She worked her ass off today and did a great job. I'm impressed.”

Rosa made a face. “What is with you people? I've held jobs before. I know how to work.”

“You need help?” Junior asked.

“We got it,” Carmen answered. She'd been isolated from her family for some time, and it felt good to get back into their lives. Ever since her mom had gotten sick, Carmen pulled back. No, it had been even earlier. When she left for college, she backed away from her family while she tried to figure out who she was.

She'd tried to reinvent herself and thought her family had been part of the problem. Over the last month, something had shifted and changed within her. She felt new and revived. She credited her relationship with Liam. With him, she'd learned to open up and experience life again. Part of it was his love for his family and the connection they had. Carmen had been missing that. Until her dad died, she hadn't even realized how much she missed it.

She grabbed containers of food and rushed into the kitchen. “Hey, Junior.” When he looked up from the grill, she said, “I'm having a New Year's Eve party this year at my house. Pass the word on to everyone.”

He frowned. “You sure you're up for that?”

“Definitely. I want to be with my family.” Maybe she'd even convince Liam to bring some of his family. Unless they had plans. Now that she was in a relationship, this was probably something she should've run by him first. But it was a party. Who didn't love a party?

As she wrapped up her work for the day, she began to compile a mental list of what she'd need to do over the course of the next week to get ready for the party. Her dad would be thrilled to see her now. She wished she'd been smart enough to have these realizations a long time ago.

Liam worked with his brothers and sisters for the next few days getting their mom's house ready for Christmas. He'd spent a little time with Carmen, but not nearly enough to take the edge off his emotions. Mom hadn't said anything more about Carmen, but he felt like the other shoe would drop at some point. She hadn't denied Maggie's accusations and that troubled him.

He didn't know what he'd do if his mom couldn't accept Carmen. It was Christmas Eve, and Colin and Ryan were at the hospital while he and Moira finished decorating the tree. He and Moira laughed over some of the ornaments that had seen better days, ones their mom refused to get rid of because one of them had made it as a kid.

“Are we all set for tomorrow?” Moira asked.

“I guess.”

“You have all the groceries? You need us to bring anything?”

Liam smiled. When had his sister become an “us”? “Everything's in the fridge. You have a plan to keep Mom out of the kitchen?”

“I got something, but I don't know how well it'll work.”

“What?”

“I'm going to mass with her.”

“Talk about taking one for the team.”

“And you all better appreciate it.” She went to the wall and plugged the lights in. The tree lit up. “Carmen is coming tomorrow, right?”

“We haven't talked about it, so I don't know.”

Moira studied him.

“Your looks don't scare me.”

“Mom shouldn't scare you either. You're a grown man, and Carmen seems really nice. I like her. Mom will get over it.”

Liam bent over and packed up the empty boxes from the ornaments to take back to the basement. “First, Mom doesn't scare me. However, I don't want to start a fight and upset her. She's not one hundred percent yet. Second, I've been so busy here and Carmen's been running the truck that we haven't talked about plans for Christmas. She might need to be with her family.”